Is the "Killer App" dead?

[crazyjackcsa]

I admit, I'm far removed from the Console Wars, quietly playing my system of choice and leaving it at that.

However, is the day of the killer app dead?
I'd hazard to say that Wii sports was a killer app, as it drew new people into the market,and not people away from existing camps.

So what I want is opinion. Are there former Ps2 owners that swiched to Microsoft or the Wii for a particular game, or any other combination. Id really be interested to hear from the people that strictly own 1 console, as showing a preference when having multiple consoles sullies my question a bit.

[chrisbid]

wii sports was indeed a killer app, without it the system would be in no better position than the gamecube

the 360 and PS3 have some FPS exclusives, but none of them are head and shoulders above the rest. call of duty seems to be the flavor of the month in the fps realm, and it is multiplatform

[skaar]

Games are cheaper now. Systems are cheaper now. Choice is cheaper now.

No reason to stick to one system anymore.

I think Nintendo's Mario/Zelda/Metroid franchises work for them, MS has Halo and uh... Halo, PS3 has MGS (heh) and Sackboy.

Freedom!

I'd say Nintendo is the best position for console exclusive properties.

[Baloo]

Games are cheaper now. Systems are cheaper now. Choice is cheaper now.

No reason to stick to one system anymore.

I think Nintendo's Mario/Zelda/Metroid franchises work for them, MS has Halo and uh... Halo, PS3 has MGS (heh) and Sackboy.

Freedom!

I'd say Nintendo is the best position for console exclusive properties.

Yeah, Nintendo seems to be the only console out with a true killer-app.

Although I don't think this-gen really has any true killer-apps. Does Sony ever really have a true killer-app for their console? Sega had Sonic, Nintendo Mario, Xbox Halo, etc. etc.

But is there any one franchise that Sony could even consider to be a killer-app?

[scooterb23]

I think the simple fact that a "ZOMG KILLER APPPP" gets released every 2 weeks rather kills the concept of the killer app.

In my opinion, the fact that games have lost a lot of replayability over the past few years. So there aren't many games I want to play again and again for years to come, which is my definition of what a true killer app should be.

[RCM]

Well, a killer app might be considered a console feature in today's market. Modern Warfare 2 sold over 4 million units on 360 vs. 1 million on PS3. There's been speculation that Live made all the difference, which I agree with regardless of 360's larger installed base.

[exit]

I think Nintendo's Mario/Zelda/Metroid franchises work for them, MS has Halo and uh... Halo, PS3 has MGS (heh) and Sackboy.

You forgot Nathan Drake....HOW COULD YOU HAVE FORGOTTEN NATHAN DRAKE!

[udisi]

Well, a killer app might be considered a console feature in today's market. Modern Warfare 2 sold over 4 million units on 360 vs. 1 million on PS3. There's been speculation that Live made all the difference, which I agree with regardless of 360's larger installed base.

Yeah, I would say xbox live is the closest thing to a killer ap on a modern console.

[PapaStu]

Games are cheaper now. Systems are cheaper now. Choice is cheaper now.

No reason to stick to one system anymore.

I think Nintendo's Mario/Zelda/Metroid franchises work for them, MS has Halo and uh... Halo, PS3 has MGS (heh) and Sackboy.

Freedom!

I'd say Nintendo is the best position for console exclusive properties.

Being a fan of all three, i'd be glad to point out the missing 'Killer Apps' known as Forza, Crackdown and Gears for 360. Not to mention GT, Ratchet & Clank, Uncharted, Resistance, Killzone for the PS3.

Really there are bunches more for both systems and most of the real big ticket 'Killer Apps' are all cross platform and they are 'killer' because in the publishers eyes their game is 'THE' game to be playing, that it is infact the 'Killer App' for gamers. Unfortunately as Scoots said, there are about 4 months out of the year where every 3 weeks the next Killer App is hitting the shelves and we're smack dab in the middle of that glut right now.

[Nebagram]

If you look back at previous killer apps- Sonic 1, Street Fighter 2 (as long as that was exclusive anyways), Mario 64, Zelda OoT, FFVII, MGS, Halo and arguably Tekken 3, Gran Turismo and Soul Calibur 1, each one of them was truly groundbreaking in ways rarely seen before. Part of the death of the killer app is that imitation seems to be the current flavour rather than innovation... though I would argue the case for Gears of War 1 being a true killer app for the 360, it innovated enough to satisfy snobs like myself and sold in high enough numbers to appeal to the masses. The PS3 came close with MGS4 and the Wii obviously struck gold with Wii Sports... I think the killer app isn't dead, it's just trying too hard to reinvent itself. Eventually publishers will realise this, assuming Activision doesn't fill our houses with cheap plastic shite and buy half of Europe first.

[kupomogli]

I honestly don't think there are many games worth calling killer apps.

Forza 3 and Gran Turismo definitely as these are some massive racing titles. GT5 has been in the works since the PS3 was launched. If you are a racing fan then these are going to be must own(I've never played Forza 3 but Forza 2 was good.)

Live could be considered a killer app due to the cross game chat and the in game music player. You're paying a $50 a year premium on these two features though. One reason why I no longer own a 360. I want to pay once for a system to play online, just like MMO games that I'll never play because I want to only pay once for a game.

Now. The PSP being my favorite current gen system, I'd say that ad-hoc party is the killer app of the system. Play any ad-hoc only PSP title against anyone who has a PSP and a PS3. Unfortunately more than four/five states away it starts lagging so they have to be somewhat close. Playing in FL against someone in NC though and getting no lag is fine with me though. Too bad I don't live in the middle of the US and have a fairly good connection with just about everyone.

Both systems have good games, but none of them are really killer apps that will make you purchase a system. The main thing is that most games are multiplatform. Demon's Souls, Valkyria Chronicles, Dead Rising, Dead or Alive 4 are great games, but if they were the only games on each system that were exclusive it really wouldn't push me to one or another.

The Wii doesn't have any killer apps. I'll eventually buy a system since it now has atleast five or six games I want that I don't own on the PS2.

[BHvrd]

What I would buy a Wii For:
Mario Galaxies
Wii Sports Resort
Mario Bros. Wii
Pokemon, kinda, but the new version is weak.
A new Zelda---- if they ever get it out

What I would buy a PS3 For:
Uncharted 2
Metal Gear Solid 4
Demon's Souls >>>yes, I would buy the system for this game alone.
Final Fantasy 14
GT5
The Last Guardian -----maybe
MAG -----maybe

What I would buy a Xbox360 For:
??Left 4 Dead?? I guess, but I got that on PC.

If you really need a "killer app" to qualify for all three consoles then:
Call of Duty >>>>>>>>> Which is a fucking shame, but yeah, that's what everyone seems to play, so measure the DLC, game modes or pixels per square inch I guess.

[WCP]

When a "Killer App" comes down the pipe, it really has to do some major, major damage. It has to cause everybody to stop and take notice. Even people that aren't among the hardcore set. Take a system like the TurboGrafx-16. It never really got a "Killer App" stateside. They tried to tout Bonk as a killer app, and as good as the Bonk games were (I loved them), it never caught on with the general public at large. Contrast this with the first Sonic on the Genesis, Mortal Kombat on the Genesis (it had the blood), Street Fighter II on the Super Nintendo, (timed exlusivity) and Donkey Kong Country. Donkey Kong Country is particularly notable considering the fact that it wasn't really that amazing of a platformer. It was moreso the technology of the game than anything else. That coupled with an amazing marketing campaign.

3DO's killer app was Road Rash, but it just didn't make a big enough splash outside the hardcore gaming crowd. Same thing with Aliens vs. Predator for the Atari Jaguar. The Saturn never really had a true Killer App, and that probably killed it more than anything else. Sega was hoping that either Virtua Fighter or Daytona USA would be the killer app, but neither of those home ports replicated the arcade counterpart closely enough.

Sony started off with Ridge Racer being the killer app at launch, looking more similar to it's arcade counterpart than either VF or Daytona. A few months later when Wipeout was released, that became the killer app for awhile, at least until the arrival of Tomb Raider and Resident Evil. Obviously, when the Nintendo 64 arrived, Mario 64 was the perfect definition of a killer app.

Anyways, to get back on topic, there just doesn't seem to be any games that come out nowadays that really break the mold and blow people totally out of the water. There have definitely been some huge games, with ever improving graphics, but since GTA3 on PS2, I can't really think of any games that really changed the paradigm. I guess I'd have to begrudgingly give the nod to Wii Sports, but I honestly think it had more to do with the controller than the software. I suppose Halo 3 would be considered a killer app, but it was more of a Killer App in sheeps clothing. It did cause alot of people to buy Xbox 360's, but in hindsight I don't think the game was anywhere near as good as alot of people thought it was going to be.

[NayusDante]

Nintendo doesn't fit in this generation. I'd post the "It Prints Money" picture with Miyamoto and Iwata holding DSs printing dollars, but I think everyone gets the idea. They're really profiting from "everybody else," while still doing enough to appease the gamers.

With Sony and Microsoft, however, it's a new killer-app every season. Right now, Sony is pushing Home, and Microsoft is pushing Facebook and Twitter (and Last.FM to a lesser extent, though that's all I would use). Both of them are so "in the moment" that they have to have a new killer-app every few months, and it really shows with these services.


I think that we're putting ourselves in a box to say that one game or franchise is a console's killer-app. Instead, the question should be, "What do you buy X console to do?"

[Icarus Moonsight]

I'd say all three console producers have dropped the software ball or focused on hardware aspects at the sacrifice of attention to software. I honestly expected more of Nintendo on the software side than what they have produced so far. They didn't have huge sticker shock or ticking time bomb systems to take their attention away for an actual reason... They were in a position to capitalize much more than they did. I'm left scratching my head at times... They dropped the initiative and it seems to me that they sort of rode a blue ocean wave for the better part of two years. All that said, they still got more software to market that I care to play over MS and Sony. But, they could have done much better.

[Ed Oscuro]

Games are cheaper now. Systems are cheaper now. Choice is cheaper now.

Phone plans are still expensive.

Hard to say that voice is a "killer app" for a gaming system, though, given that compatibility between handsets is basically nonexistent and only the iPhone has notably succeeded as a gaming platform (everybody remember the NGage?).

[Rob2600]

Based on sales, I'd say the Wii's biggest "killer apps" are:

Wii Sports
Wii Fit
Mario Kart Wii
Super Mario Galaxy
Super Smash Bros. Brawl

and maybe World of Goo.

[Wraith Storm]

When a "Killer App" comes down the pipe, it really has to do some major, major damage. It has to cause everybody to stop and take notice. Even people that aren't among the hardcore set.

I completely agree. I could not have said it better.

Take a system like the TurboGrafx-16. It never really got a "Killer App" stateside. They tried to tout Bonk as a killer app, and as good as the Bonk games were (I loved them), it never caught on with the general public at large. Contrast this with the first Sonic on the Genesis, Mortal Kombat on the Genesis (it had the blood), Street Fighter II on the Super Nintendo, (timed exlusivity) and Donkey Kong Country. Donkey Kong Country is particularly notable considering the fact that it wasn't really that amazing of a platformer. It was moreso the technology of the game than anything else. That coupled with an amazing marketing campaign.

I still completely agree with everything you have stated. All of these games were certainly the definition of killer app.

3DO's killer app was Road Rash, but it just didn't make a big enough splash outside the hardcore gaming crowd. Same thing with Aliens vs. Predator for the Atari Jaguar. The Saturn never really had a true Killer App, and that probably killed it more than anything else. Sega was hoping that either Virtua Fighter or Daytona USA would be the killer app, but neither of those home ports replicated the arcade counterpart closely enough.

Both those games were certainly Killer apps for the 3do and Jaguar. But here is where I have to disagree... The Saturn never had a killer app?!?! What are you talking about? The Saturn had Nights!

That was a killer app. It was HUGE when it came out. All the gaming mags at the time promoted it, Sega ran the biggest advertising campaign they had ever ran for a Saturn game in the US, and I knew lots of people that didn't play many games but they all talked about Nights. Even now, 12 or 13 years later you can ask someone that never even owned a Saturn about what games are good on the system and they'll almost always mention Nights.

[WCP]

The Saturn never had a killer app?!?! What are you talking about? The Saturn had Nights!

That was a killer app. It was HUGE when it came out. All the gaming mags at the time promoted it, Sega ran the biggest advertising campaign they had ever ran for a Saturn game in the US, and I knew lots of people that didn't play many games but they all talked about Nights. Even now, 12 or 13 years later you can ask someone that never even owned a Saturn about what games are good on the system and they'll almost always mention Nights.

I like Nights just as much as the next guy, but I don't think it can qualify as a bonifide killer app. Like I said originally, a killer app has to capture the attention of more than just the hardcore. Sure, Nights was on the cover of every magazine at the time, and it got great reviews and all, but Joe Sixpack had no idea about anything called, "Nights".

Joe Sixpack heard of Tomb Raider, he heard of Mario 64, but he had no clue about anything called Nights.

[diskoboy]

I like Nights just as much as the next guy, but I don't think it can qualify as a bonifide killer app. Like I said originally, a killer app has to capture the attention of more than just the hardcore. Sure, Nights was on the cover of every magazine at the time, and it got great reviews and all, but Joe Sixpack had no idea about anything called, "Nights".

Joe Sixpack heard of Tomb Raider, he heard of Mario 64, but he had no clue about anything called Nights.

I can agree with you in some ways.

For example: I consider Jet Grind Radio a Dreamcast 'Killer app'. But most people have never heard of, or played it. Yet it's still considered one of the DC's top titles because it was just so damn good!

Nights, on the other hand, is one of the Saturns top titles. It didn't sell as well as other games, but it is one of the Saturns most widely known titles. While it may not be a widely known killer app like Halo was for the first Xbox, FF7 for the PS1, or Mario 64. You also have to take into consideration that the Saturn was also considered a failure, as a whole. Nights doesn't have as much recognition as Mario, Sonic or Master Chief. But Nights was one of the more popular titles on the Saturn. It influenced many people at the time, to purchase a Saturn.

But IMO, I consider the Panzer Dragoon titles to be the Saturns Killer apps. They're pretty well known titles, and show off the Saturns capabilities. Most other would say Nights or Virtua Fighter 2. It's all in the eye of the beholder.